Mama cat biting kittens necks

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  • 22 June, 2016 at 6:40 pm #848882
    Jamie
    Participant

    I’ve done some research and I’m not convinced the mom is just disciplining them or showing them who’s boss. I’d love more insight if anyone can help me.

    The situation: I brought a stray cat home which turned out to be pregnant. She gave birth and then after a week and a half got sick with mastitis. She wasn’t allowed to be around her kittens while her abscess healed so I’ve been bottle feeding them. They are 3 weeks old today and yesterday was the first time they were allowed to be around mom again. She won’t ever be able to nurse again but she’s been cleaning all of them which is great.

    However after she’s done cleaning all 6 of them (she had 6!) she starts getting seemingly playful (rolling on her back upside down) and then grabbing them with her paws, bringing them close to her and then biting their necks.

    I experimented by seeing how far she took it once and she didn’t take it very far but the way she bites makes me think she all of a sudden thinks her kittens are toys.

    She might be as old as 2 or as young as less than a year. She’s a small cat so it’s hard to tell. I’m wondering if her being away from them and no longer nursing them has confused her. Or maybe she’s trying to teach them something and it’s natural.

    I’ve read about cats killing their kittens and though I don’t want to be paranoid, I don’t want to leave her alone unsupervised with them.

    22 June, 2016 at 7:55 pm #848887
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    Hi Jamie,

    Welcome TDKland-we’re the furriest blog around.

    Please remove mom cat away from the kittens. She doesn’t really see them as her kits anymore and may get aggressive with them. You need to continue being their foster parents and raise them. If mom hasn’t been spayed this is a great time to do it.

    Here’s the TDKers go to information on raising abandoned kittens.
    TDKers swear by Goats’ milk. There is the liquid in the dairy aisle and the concentrate in the baking aisle. The concentrate is mixed 1:1 with water. You give this to her in a bottle with an appropriate opening. If she’s chewing on the nipple then she’s not getting enough to eat. Again, cats are lactose intolerant and Goats’ milk is low in lactose. It should settle her tummy and give nutrients and probiotics. Also, kits don’t digest food when they’re cold. Set up a nest for her with blankies and place a heating pad, on LOW, covered by a towel to keep her warm. Be sure she has a cool area to move to if she gets to hot. You can start making her a gruel around 5-6 weeks by mixing Goats’ milk with wet kitten food. I’m not so concerned about her not pooping because she doesn’t have that much to poop but she should be having one soon. I can’t emphasize feeding Goats’ milk to kits. It’s just about a miracle meal for kits.
    Here’s a couple of links with more information:
    http://www.safehavenforcats.com/newborn.htm
    http://messybeast.com/handrear.htm

    PG

    23 June, 2016 at 2:33 am #848897
    Kittyzee
    Participant

    Hi Jamie,
    I had a new first time mother who was very young when she had her litter. She tried her best to take care of them, but my daughter and I ended up caring for them because she just couldn’t quit moving them. Most mothers move their kittens by getting hold of their ‘scruff’ (the loose skin at the back of their necks) and picking them up like that and carrying them. Trouble is, she would grab them anywhere–their tummies, backs etc. and accidentally puncture their skin and we had to treat their abscesses. She lost all but one of the kits this way. 😥 For the kittens’ sake, and the mother too, I would keep her from trying to pick them up or biting them. I don’t think she is trying to hurt them, but kittens are just fragile when they are newborn to about 3 weeks old. Usually, it’s the male or tom cat that kills kittens as he see them as competition for the female’s attention.
    Good on you for taking over their care and making sure they are warm, fed and loved! As long as you are supervising the kittens with mama cat I don’t see a problem, but I wouldn’t just leave them with her without you watching. Too many things can go wrong as she more than likely doesn’t realize they are her kittens. And like PG said–good time to get her spayed! 😛

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